Reference
Sources
Every number on this site comes from something. Here is all of it in one place, plus an honest list of what we couldn’t confirm.
What “not verified” means here
Three different things get marked. A source we read at search-synthesis level rather than loading directly. A source we loaded but whose underlying study we didn’t trace. And a claim where the primary record was unreachable when we checked.
In all three cases the claim still appears on the site, because leaving it out would be its own kind of distortion. It appears with a Reported, not verified label attached, so you know what you’re looking at.
Open items
Things we know are missing or unconfirmed, as of August 6, 2026:
- Carroll News-Democrat / Madison Courier (Paxton Media Group). Record and link the direct URL for the July 23, 2026 DECA article.
- Carroll News-Democrat / Madison Courier (Paxton Media Group). Pull the Kentucky Attorney General opinion itself and link it, rather than relying on a news summary with no recorded URL.
- WKYT (Lexington). Record and link the direct WKYT article URL, and get a readable copy of the signed order.
- WUKY (public radio, Lexington). Record and link the direct WUKY article URL for the Stivers criticism.
- Commonwealth of Kentucky. Re-check governor.ky.gov and the Secretary of State executive order registry, then either confirm the order number 2026-494 against the signed order or remove the number from the site.
- Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI). Trace each decibel figure back to the study or news report EESI credits it to, and cite that instead.
- Congressional Research Service. Read CRS R48646 directly and re-check every water figure against it.
- George Mason University, Schar School of Policy and Government. Load the GMU release and the underlying study, then restate the finding precisely.
- Bisnow. Load the Bisnow piece directly and identify each study it summarizes, including the University of Rochester work and the second George Mason study that reaches the opposite conclusion.
- Kittelson & Associates. Load the Kittelson piece directly or replace it with a public agency traffic guidance document.
- Carroll County zoning status. Find a second, independent outlet, or confirm directly with the county planning office. The claim currently rests on two articles from one media company.
- Carroll County population. Verify the current five-year American Community Survey figure, which determines which tax exemption tier a project falls in.
- Indianapolis moratorium. Our sources covered it only at committee stage, with a full council vote scheduled for August 10, 2026. Not currently cited on the site for that reason.
- Louisville moratorium. The mayor called for one on August 4, 2026. We haven’t loaded that story directly, so it isn’t cited.
How advocacy and industry sources are handled
They get used, and they get labeled. When a claim comes from a group that advocates for a position, from an industry trade group, or from a developer, the label sits next to the claim, not buried in a footnote. Developer-commissioned job and revenue projections say “developer-commissioned” every single time they appear.
Every citation, by page
Start here
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Carroll News-Democrat / Madison Courier (Paxton Media Group)
Carrollton reaches agreement for $9.6B data center
Local newspaper. The only outlet reporting several Carroll County details on this site. Paxton Media Group owns both mastheads, so a second Paxton article is not an independent confirmation.
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Carroll News-Democrat / Madison Courier (Paxton Media Group)not verified
DECA proposing $4B data center in Carroll County
https://www.madisoncourier.com/carroll_news_democrat/
Direct article URL was not recorded in our source pass, so the link goes to the outlet’s Carroll County section. Same owner as the July 29 story above. Treat both as one outlet.
Noise
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Kentucky Energy Planning and Inventory Commission (EPIC)
EPIC Report No. 2026-001, “Data Centers in Kentucky: Policy Analysis for the General Assembly”
https://caer.uky.edu/sites/default/files/2026-06/epic-report-no-2026-001.pdf
State commission report prepared for the General Assembly under KRS 164.2807. Hosted on the University of Kentucky CAER website, but it is not a UK study. Full 20-page text read directly. Its own disclaimer says it “does not constitute a formal recommendation or position of any state agency, utility, or regulated entity.”
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Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI)not verified
Communities Are Raising Noise Pollution Concerns About Data Centers
EESI is a nonprofit that advocates for environmental and clean energy policy. Its framing is advocacy. The decibel figures inside the piece are attributed to reporting and studies it cites, not measured by EESI.
Our source pass read this at search-synthesis level and did not re-verify it against the underlying studies.
Water
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Congressional Research Servicenot verified
Report R48646, on data center resource use
https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R48646
Nonpartisan research arm of Congress. The full text returned HTTP 403 in our source pass. The water figures on this site come from a search synthesis that credits this report and others, not from a direct read.
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Carroll News-Democrat / Madison Courier (Paxton Media Group)
Carrollton reaches agreement for $9.6B data center
Local newspaper. The only outlet reporting several Carroll County details on this site. Paxton Media Group owns both mastheads, so a second Paxton article is not an independent confirmation.
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WKYU (public radio, Bowling Green)
Kentucky Gov. Beshear to require data centers prove no impact on ratepayers
Public radio. Loaded directly. Primary source used for the executive order’s provisions.
Power and the grid
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Kentucky Energy Planning and Inventory Commission (EPIC)
EPIC Report No. 2026-001, “Data Centers in Kentucky: Policy Analysis for the General Assembly”
https://caer.uky.edu/sites/default/files/2026-06/epic-report-no-2026-001.pdf
State commission report prepared for the General Assembly under KRS 164.2807. Hosted on the University of Kentucky CAER website, but it is not a UK study. Full 20-page text read directly. Its own disclaimer says it “does not constitute a formal recommendation or position of any state agency, utility, or regulated entity.”
Taxes and incentives
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Kentucky Revised Statutes
KRS 139.499, Exemption for certain data center equipment
https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=55425
Primary statute text, read directly.
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Kentucky Revised Statutes
KRS 154.20-220, definitions including “qualified data center project” and “term”
https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=56356
Primary statute text, read directly. This is where the dollar thresholds and the length of the exemption actually live, not in KRS 139.499.
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Stites & Harbison PLLC
Kentucky vastly expands data center tax incentives
https://www.stites.com/resources/client-alerts/kentucky-vastly-expands-data-center-tax-incentives/
Law firm client alert, written for business clients. Useful plain-English summary, but it says “up to 50 years” without the shorter tiers, so this site cites the statute for every number instead.
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WKYU (public radio, Bowling Green)
Kentucky Gov. Beshear to require data centers prove no impact on ratepayers
Public radio. Loaded directly. Primary source used for the executive order’s provisions.
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Kentucky Energy Planning and Inventory Commission (EPIC)
EPIC Report No. 2026-001, “Data Centers in Kentucky: Policy Analysis for the General Assembly”
https://caer.uky.edu/sites/default/files/2026-06/epic-report-no-2026-001.pdf
State commission report prepared for the General Assembly under KRS 164.2807. Hosted on the University of Kentucky CAER website, but it is not a UK study. Full 20-page text read directly. Its own disclaimer says it “does not constitute a formal recommendation or position of any state agency, utility, or regulated entity.”
Property values
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George Mason University, Schar School of Policy and Governmentnot verified
Study: Home prices are higher when a house is near a data center
https://schar.gmu.edu/news/2025-11/study-home-prices-are-higher-when-house-near-data-center
University news release about its own study. Read at search-synthesis level in our source pass, not loaded directly, so no methodology claims are made here.
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Bisnownot verified
Data centers may not be a drag on nearby home prices
Commercial real estate trade publication, so its readership is the industry. Read at search-synthesis level, not loaded directly.
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Carroll News-Democrat / Madison Courier (Paxton Media Group)
Carrollton reaches agreement for $9.6B data center
Local newspaper. The only outlet reporting several Carroll County details on this site. Paxton Media Group owns both mastheads, so a second Paxton article is not an independent confirmation.
Construction traffic
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Louisiana Illuminator, reporting by Drew Hawkins of the Gulf States Newsroom
Crashes spike around Meta data center construction
https://lailluminator.com/2025/11/22/meta-data-center-crashes/
Nonprofit news outlet. Loaded directly, in full. NPR published the same reporting by the same reporter four days later, so the NPR version is a redistribution, not an independent confirmation.
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NPR, reporting by Drew Hawkins of the Gulf States Newsroom
Construction of Meta data center causing dangerous and reckless road conditions
Loaded directly. Same reporter and same newsroom as the Louisiana Illuminator story above. Listed for completeness, not as corroboration.
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Carroll News-Democrat / Madison Courier (Paxton Media Group)
Carrollton reaches agreement for $9.6B data center
Local newspaper. The only outlet reporting several Carroll County details on this site. Paxton Media Group owns both mastheads, so a second Paxton article is not an independent confirmation.
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Kittelson & Associatesnot verified
Why data centers don’t fit standard traffic assumptions, and how to plan for their transportation impacts
Transportation engineering consultancy, so it sells this kind of study. Read at search-snippet level, not loaded directly.
Zoning and hearings
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Kentucky Association of Counties
Planning and Zoning 101 for Counties
https://kaco.org/articles/planning-and-zoning-101-for-counties/
Membership association for Kentucky county governments. Loaded directly.
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Kentucky Revised Statutes
KRS Chapter 100, Planning and Zoning
https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/chapter.aspx?id=37663
Linked as the statute of record. Our source pass did not read the individual subsections, so this site does not state notice periods, appeal paths, or hearing triggers from it.
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WKYU (public radio, Bowling Green)
Kentucky Gov. Beshear to require data centers prove no impact on ratepayers
Public radio. Loaded directly. Primary source used for the executive order’s provisions.
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Kentucky Energy Planning and Inventory Commission (EPIC)
EPIC Report No. 2026-001, “Data Centers in Kentucky: Policy Analysis for the General Assembly”
https://caer.uky.edu/sites/default/files/2026-06/epic-report-no-2026-001.pdf
State commission report prepared for the General Assembly under KRS 164.2807. Hosted on the University of Kentucky CAER website, but it is not a UK study. Full 20-page text read directly. Its own disclaimer says it “does not constitute a formal recommendation or position of any state agency, utility, or regulated entity.”
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Virginia Legislative Information System
HB 1515 (2026), data center siting and interconnection
https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20261/HB1515
Primary legislative record, read directly through a browser.
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Georgia Municipal Association bill tracker
HB 1012 (2026), data center permit moratorium
https://billtracker.gacities.com/legislation/72319
Association of Georgia city governments. Used for bill status only. The Georgia General Assembly adjourned sine die in early April 2026, which ends bills still in committee.
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Carroll News-Democrat / Madison Courier (Paxton Media Group)not verified
DECA proposing $4B data center in Carroll County
https://www.madisoncourier.com/carroll_news_democrat/
Direct article URL was not recorded in our source pass, so the link goes to the outlet’s Carroll County section. Same owner as the July 29 story above. Treat both as one outlet.
Kentucky
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WDRB (Louisville)
Louisville-based development team announces plans for $9.6B data center campus in Carroll County
Television news station.
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Carroll News-Democrat / Madison Courier (Paxton Media Group)
Carrollton reaches agreement for $9.6B data center
Local newspaper. The only outlet reporting several Carroll County details on this site. Paxton Media Group owns both mastheads, so a second Paxton article is not an independent confirmation.
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Carroll News-Democrat / Madison Courier (Paxton Media Group)not verified
DECA proposing $4B data center in Carroll County
https://www.madisoncourier.com/carroll_news_democrat/
Direct article URL was not recorded in our source pass, so the link goes to the outlet’s Carroll County section. Same owner as the July 29 story above. Treat both as one outlet.
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Kentucky Energy Planning and Inventory Commission (EPIC)
EPIC Report No. 2026-001, “Data Centers in Kentucky: Policy Analysis for the General Assembly”
https://caer.uky.edu/sites/default/files/2026-06/epic-report-no-2026-001.pdf
State commission report prepared for the General Assembly under KRS 164.2807. Hosted on the University of Kentucky CAER website, but it is not a UK study. Full 20-page text read directly. Its own disclaimer says it “does not constitute a formal recommendation or position of any state agency, utility, or regulated entity.”
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Kentucky Association of Counties
Planning and Zoning 101 for Counties
https://kaco.org/articles/planning-and-zoning-101-for-counties/
Membership association for Kentucky county governments. Loaded directly.
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WKYU (public radio, Bowling Green)
Kentucky Gov. Beshear to require data centers prove no impact on ratepayers
Public radio. Loaded directly. Primary source used for the executive order’s provisions.
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Washington Examiner
Andy Beshear Kentucky data center executive order
National outlet with a conservative editorial line. Used here only as one of the two outlets that printed the order number.
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WKYT (Lexington)not verified
Coverage of the August 6, 2026 data center executive order
Television news station. Direct article URL was not recorded in our source pass, so the link goes to the station homepage. WKYT posted what appears to be the signed order to Scribd under the filename “20260806 Executive Order 2026 494 Related to Data Centers,” but that upload is set to private and cannot be read.
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Commonwealth of Kentuckynot verified
Office of the Governor, and the Secretary of State executive order registry
https://apps.sos.ky.gov/executivejournal/
This is the primary record that would confirm the order’s number. On August 6, 2026 the Secretary of State registry returned HTTP 403 to every request we made, and governor.ky.gov returned 403 as well, so we could not read the order itself. That is why the number on this site is attributed to news outlets instead of stated as fact.
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WUKY (public radio, Lexington)not verified
Coverage of the August 6, 2026 data center executive order
Public radio. Direct article URL was not recorded in our source pass, so the link goes to the station homepage.
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Kentucky Lantern
Some Kentucky counties and cities are hitting pause on data centers
Nonprofit statehouse news outlet. Loaded directly.
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Kentucky Revised Statutes
KRS 139.499, Exemption for certain data center equipment
https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=55425
Primary statute text, read directly.
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Kentucky Revised Statutes
KRS 154.20-220, definitions including “qualified data center project” and “term”
https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=56356
Primary statute text, read directly. This is where the dollar thresholds and the length of the exemption actually live, not in KRS 139.499.
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Carroll News-Democrat / Madison Courier (Paxton Media Group)not verified
Data centers qualify as industrial buildings, Attorney General says
https://www.madisoncourier.com/carroll_news_democrat/
Direct article URL was not recorded in our source pass, so the link goes to the outlet’s Carroll County section. The underlying Kentucky Attorney General opinion has not been read directly.
Write a public comment
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Louisiana Illuminator, reporting by Drew Hawkins of the Gulf States Newsroom
Crashes spike around Meta data center construction
https://lailluminator.com/2025/11/22/meta-data-center-crashes/
Nonprofit news outlet. Loaded directly, in full. NPR published the same reporting by the same reporter four days later, so the NPR version is a redistribution, not an independent confirmation.
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Kentucky Revised Statutes
KRS 154.20-220, definitions including “qualified data center project” and “term”
https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=56356
Primary statute text, read directly. This is where the dollar thresholds and the length of the exemption actually live, not in KRS 139.499.
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WKYU (public radio, Bowling Green)
Kentucky Gov. Beshear to require data centers prove no impact on ratepayers
Public radio. Loaded directly. Primary source used for the executive order’s provisions.